U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died today at age 79

[CaptRenault]

...If you believe the average American know the name of the Supreme court judges, don't want to sound rude here but you are delusional, they don't. They can't even place their country on a map. They have no fucking clue what a Supreme Court is and what it does. Americans are clueless. I spend lots of time in United States, as much in the red neck bible belt lands than the northen liberal states, and the ignorance, poverty, craziness that you see all over, though way more concentrated the south, his pathetic and worrysome...

Hmm...At least your current and potential American clients now know what you really think about them, their country and some of their leaders. Great marketing strategy! Perhaps you should post these same thoughts on your website and in your ads as a warning to Americans.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I miss the days where we had the likes of Hugo Chavez, Saddam Hussein and Muammar Khadafi. We lived in a much better world when those people were alive.

 

[dbiz2]

You might be correct after all, according to this article

http://thefederalist.com/2016/02/15/why-so-many-millennials-are-socialists/

I think my limited sample size of the happy, high-earning call girls under 30 was not terribly representative of the overall population.

Perhaps a professor like you can teach them about socialism, a concept they seem to fail to grasp.

Maybe you can tell some of the cute ones become hookers. The pay is good and the competition might reduce the very high US prices a bit.

An intellectual might argue that socialism is bad for the sex industry, but that would only be true if there was enough goods to spread around, and there never is.

I realized my mistake to never get into a political debate on an SP/Client website. But I have to give you a news flash: I'm not a socialist. But given I state the obvious as to why Millennials feel the way they do, you apparently like to just group people by who make observations about what the U.S. political scene looks like. But that's what political scientists do. However, trust me. I'm neither socialist, communist,or libertarian. I am a moderate in one of the two major U.S. parties, and always have been.

And yes, Bernie IS making strong headway: http://www.freep.com/story/news/pol...-hit-campaign-trail-across-michigan/80405224/

But so is "the Donald": http://heavy.com/news/2016/02/lates...carolina-trump-cruz-rubio-carson-kasich-iran/

Bottom line from a political observer point: the traditional major party candidates are in serious trouble. The young people in the U.S. are very pissed off that the traditional party folks their mom and dad supported have left the the country in shambles and the so called "American Dream" is becoming just that. They don't see current or future opportunities. It's not like political revolutions haven't happened before, and the old ideologies that were perceived as out of touch, were changed by a restless young people (the War on Poverty, protest against the Vietnam War, the modern day Civil Rights Movement, a right to privacy regarding reproductive rights, etc, etc, etc). They want their share of the pie now, or a better promise of that then the current state of affairs, and not having to work 60+ hours a week to get it.

Again a political observation AND NOT my beliefs...

 

[CaptRenault]

...It takes 60 votes to confirm a supermajority. I believe 14 republicans would have to vote with all of the democrats for a successful nomination.
The process is detailed in the constitution. Amazing that such a simple document which has been amended very few times can be so pertinent almost 230 years later.

Yes, and though I didn't always agree with his opinions and dissents, I am grateful that Scalia was one of the judges who always took the actual words in that 230 year old document very seriously.

Good point about the necessity of needing 14 Republicans to vote with the Democrats in order to end a filibuster and authorize a vote by the Senate. If it ever gets to that point, then only 5 Republicans would need to join the Democrats to confirm an Obama nominee. Like I said, get ready for 2017.

The only way I could imagine supporting an Obama nominee would be if I knew that Trump or Sanders would be the next president. In either case, I would rather have Obama make the pick.

 

[dbiz2]

Chill out, dude. I did not think you were a socialist. And I think most of your thoughts are accurate.

I try to analyze things from an economics perspective, hence my occasional disdain for political science.

I do have concerns about young people trending toward socialism. When I look at the standard of living of young people compared to a decade or two ago, I actually find it to be quite a bit higher. I can see the cars they drive and the living conditions in the apartments and dorms and most notably the restaurant meals. Most of the time, that is to the advantage of middle aged and older males, since a certain percentage of younger women will utilize the commercial sex market to obtain significant cash. But I am not sure some of the expectations regarding constantly increased standard of living amongst the young is realistic.

But if the economic system is simply used to transfer wealth to younger generations with no consideration in return, that is frightening. This would happen at the same time the baby boomers are getting ready to drain the system of resources for medical care. And our tendency to educate relatively more young women than men in college is not going to help matters when the youngsters decide that women should get lots of maternity leave. A lot of middle aged folks would need to turn over about 80 percent of their pay checks to support that system, so I am glad you are not a socialist.

Some of us like to argue and be sarcastic on the board. Don't take anything I say too seriously. And when I said to teach them about socialism, I meant the negatives and the positives (if any).

Well the article you attached showed that Millenials want what was described as "soft Socialism" but maintain the capitalist economy (as adjunct faculty, I also taught micro and macro economics and statistics...try teaching welfare economics to first or even second year undergrads). According to a recent Pew Research study, young women between the age of 25-34 make 93% of the income their male counterparts make. But that wage gap increases, as you stated, when they make familial decisions, i.e., maternity or FMLA time off. Thus this particular report states that respondents and focus group members state that if women want to rise into leadership positions, they better think twice about having children right away.

I attached the study for your perusal: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/01/14/women-and-leadership/

Additionally, an interesting perspective on the major political parties, government and which party best represents the middle class: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016...rnment-doesnt-do-enough-to-help-middle-class/

I'm out....

FYI I quit teaching 8 years ago...got tired of the "please your students" attitude that has become the predominant viewpoint in colleges and universities. All the little buggers thought it was a "quid pro quo" --they paid their tuition and thus a right to get an A in the class. Thus to borrow Allen Iverson's view regarding practice, "study, did you say study, I mean really study???" Everything became a hassle. It got so I was giving out essay questions a week before the exam (not in my day--before the dinosaur) to people that were junior/senior students, meaning they were taking the class because they chose the major and not some required general education course for graduation (like Intro to American Government). I used a straight scale, not a curve (so yes, in some semesters there were only 1 or 2 A's out of a class of 35 students, 3-4 B's and A LOT OF C grades), plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty began to rule the day, and yes, I'll open myself up for ridicule on this board now but so be it, the occasional young female that batted their eyes and stated, "is there ANYTHING I can do to get a higher grade" as they leaned forward with you sitting at your desk in the mass lecture hall with 100 students showing the ample bosoms with the coy smile--although I will admit in my younger days (34-45), and AFTER grades were posted to their official transcript, of partaking in 3-4 naughty excursions in a 5-7 year period. At that point, grades couldn't be changed without approval of the dean, so if that was their plan, they were boinking the wrong person :smile:.

 

[Garotalover]

Lou,

I would have guessed Seattle from that photo. Same flying saucer landmark.

http://www.hdwallpapersnew.net/wp-c...ty-wide-hd-new-wallpaper-background-photo.jpg

 

[Robert 21]

Supreme Court family gathers to mourn Scalia -

Washington - President Barack Obama, the public and members of the extended Supreme Court family will pay their respects to Justice Antonin Scalia Friday, as he lies in repose inside the building where he built a legacy as one of the most conservative stalwarts to serve on the high court.

A private ceremony for Scalia will begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday in the Great Hall. The casket will be placed on the Lincoln Catafalque, which was loaned to the court by Congress for the ceremony, and a 2007 portrait of Scalia by Nelson Shanks will be displayed.

After the private ceremony, the public will be invited in from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. to view the casket.

Supreme Court police officers will serve as pallbearers and Scalia's law clerks will serve as honorary pallbearers.

"As is the tradition, Justice Scalia's law clerks will stand vigil by his side at the Court all day tomorrow and through the night," tweeted Kannon Shanmugam, who clerked for Scalia.

Obama is set to pay respects Friday at the court, and the event is expected to draw luminaries from both the legal and political worlds throughout the day.

Scalia's funeral service is Saturday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Father Paul Scalia, the justice's son, is set to deliver mass for his father. Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to attend.

Other justices who have laid in repose in the Supreme Court include former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, former Justice Harry Blackmun, former Justice William J Brennan Jr., former Justice Thurgood Marshall and former Chief Justice Earl Warren.

As Scalia is remembered Friday, talk is likely to also focus across the street, to the Capitol, where the question hovers over whether Senate Republicans will successfully block Obama from winning a third appointment to the High Court.

Senate Republicans are expected to debate the issue internally when they return next week, but many appear firm in the belief they will win if they stop confirmation hearings from ever happening.

***PAY YOUR RESPECTS***

 

[Scott]

Died of natural causes ? some are saying he was murdered. How can a supreme court judge die and no autopsy be ordered ? I ask,did Obama have Scalia murdered to push forward his own agenda ?